The French Revolution took place on European soil. According to many, it had no direct impact on Quebec, mainly because by 1789, New France was over and we were under British rule.
The most symbolic moment of the revolt was on the morning of July 14, when an angry crowd marched on the Invalides in Paris to seize arms. The Parisians, once armed, marched towards the Bastille to gather powder. The prison governor confronts the attackers, but after a day of gunfire, the garrison surrenders and its governor is beheaded. A few weeks later, on August 26, 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was adopted. As a preamble to the Constitution, we speak of equal rights, freedom of expression, freedom of the press and abolish the old privileges.
Meanwhile, in London, William Pitt’s British government offered small favors to Canadians (French speakers) to ensure that they too would not be caught in rebellion. However, he has made no secret of saying that he ultimately wants the integration of Canadians.
Echoes of Revolution
In Quebec, from the autumn of 1789, we sensed in the great cities an excitement among many free-thinkers and the smell of freedom. Joseph-Francois Perrault offers such pieces Although Dr From Molière to Montrealers, this provoked the ire of the ecclesiastics.
In 1789, a petition was circulated to the governor asking the province to form a popularly elected legislature. We see an increasing number of publications defending democratic ideals and extolling the principles espoused by the French and American revolutionaries.
Bishop Jean-Francois Hubert of Quebec strongly rejected these praises. Churchmen unreservedly denounced these republican views. Apart from the clergy, who were alarmed by the winds of change, the nobles, who still benefited from medieval feudal rights, did not accept these ideas of freedom for the commoners at every level.
Despite everything, some liberal thinkers such as Fleury Mesplet and Henri-Antoine Mezière would emphasize and ignore conservative criticisms. They will publish and spread their progressive ideas. Even before the storming of the Bastille, Messier revealed Montreal Gazette Republican ideas. This quest for public welfare led him to travel to America in 1793. It was there that he met Edmond-Charles Genet, the ambassador of the French Republic to North America. It’s a great meeting because Genet, who is trying to form an alliance with the Americans, dreams of uniting the Canadians against the British Crown. For his part, Mezière admires the action of the French people and hopes that this revolutionary wind will blow across the Saint-Laurent Valley.
Edmond-Charles Genet, Ambassador of the French Republic to North America
public domain
It was in this context that a rousing call to rebellion was published in Canada French is free to their brethren the Canadians. An appeal to explain to the people the old privileges of the aristocracy, freedom in all its forms, and the many benefits of citizen participation in political life. Obviously, the clergy and Governor-General Guy Carleton (Baron Dorchester) condemned these ideas which encouraged the rise of institutions. These new perspectives shook minds and sparked riots in Montreal and Quebec in 1794. So we can no longer say that the French Revolution did not affect Quebec or Lower Canada in 1794.
“The French are free to their brethren in Canada” is a call to sever our ties with a brutal British government that denigrates the liberties of the people. He bids us take up arms and overthrow the throne, and above all fear not George III and his soldiers, for they are very few in number. This text reminds us that we are French and will always be persecuted by English kings.
public domain
Loyal associations
However, we cannot speak of a significant population mobilization in Canada by the end of the 18th century.e century Notables and members of the higher clergy would openly support the British government and encourage us to fight “the liberators of the French proletariat”. They invite us to be wary of notions of independence and to appreciate the generosity of the mighty British Empire that now controls Canada. The privileged members of this organization pledged to support the constitution brought in by the British in 1791 and to openly encourage exemplary punishment against those who disturb the peace because of their views on liberty.
Despite this opposition from the most powerful, a few republicans from Quebec and Montreal were unwilling to allow this submission to be imposed on them. In order not to let the movement die out, letters are sent to the countryside calling on rural people to come to the city and demonstrate. Any opportunity to advance their thoughts is good. For example, when the law required the settlers to pay with their person, their teams, and their tools for the construction of roads, many men expressed their opposition vigorously. Consequence: Once the ice melted in 1796, many Montrealers refused to do the work, especially because of the taxes and fines for non-payment. Protesters spark violent clashes in the city’s streets. At the Place d’Armes, demonstrators cried out for injustice and savagely attacked a sheriff who tried to arrest one of them, Luc Berthelot. The pillar that Luke is supposed to use to tie Berthelot is broken and thrown into the river. Other dissidents barricaded themselves with weapons in their hands to resist their arrest. We even hear calls from crowds to attack prisons to free prisoners, similar to the July 14 attack on the Bastille in France. The idea is spread that perhaps the English in the town will be massacred in their sleep. Obviously, the rebels are quickly arrested and charged. In some cases, as with David McClane, the punishment was exemplary: he would be hanged and publicly beheaded.
British imperialism was imposed
On May 2, 1797, the legislature adjournedRecruitment Application* And the French orders specifically targeted foreigners to leave colonial territory.
The British victory of Admiral Nelson’s troops at Aboukir over the French fleet in the Mediterranean sounded the death knell for those who still believed that France would liberate Canada (1R and August 2, 1798).
Battle of Abukir or “Battle of the Nile” in English
Credit: National Maritime Museum, London, royalty free
To send a message of solidarity to the British government and to cut off hopes of a French return to Canada, MGr On January 10, 1799, Plessis delivered a speech in which he celebrated the glory of Great Britain. He thanked the colonial authorities for their generosity to the French Canadians. He launches into a long eulogy to say that the people are lucky to have such a good master and to assure the governor that the Church is his ally.
However, this subjugation of the clergy was not the end of republican dreams for all. A few years ago, the Constitution of 1791 brought about the beginning of our democracy with the first legislature consisting of elected officials. These politicians would soon demand a truly responsible government for the colony.
*The Anglo-Saxon institution, first established in England in 1679, ensures respect for individual liberty by guaranteeing certain rights to any person arrested.
A symbol of submission to the British invader. Nelson’s Column is one of the oldest historical monuments in Quebec.
Credit: McCord Museum
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